


Establishing Tempo

by fall_into_life



Category: RWBY
Genre: Bathing, Gen, Missing Scene, Pre-Relationship, Summer Rose Court
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 04:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15722073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fall_into_life/pseuds/fall_into_life
Summary: Ser Weiss Schnee attempts to bathe. Yang interrupts. Takes place immediately after recruiting Weiss.





	Establishing Tempo

Weiss sinks into the bath with a low groan, wincing as her body protests the movement. Almost immediately, the heat leeches pain from her, soothing bruises and telling her of cuts she hadn't noticed during her scrub. The sound she makes as she relaxes is positively inhuman, and Weiss allows her eyes to drift shut. 

The door opens. Weiss’ eyes open halfway, darting towards her rapier where it stands near the other entrance. She assumes it is a servant, only to see the burnished skin and violet eyes of the Queen's sister.

“Hey Schnee,” Yang says, so casual that Weiss infers this is not a private space. For all her boorishness, Yang does not seem the type to invade a private moment with nonchalance.

“Ser Schnee,” Weiss corrects. Yang shrugs. 

Yang starts to unwind her chest wrappings, and Weiss politely averts her gaze. She's to have company, then.

The other woman ducks into the adjacent rinsing room, emerging with wet hair and climbing down into the bath. She seats herself, not fully across from Weiss as she would have expected, but rather within arm's reach. Weiss forces herself to stay put. She must adapt, if she is to live here. 

“Is this… normal in Vale?” Weiss asks stiffly. She is a member of the Court now, as is Yang. It would behoove them to get to know one another to a degree. “Sharing bathing facilities?” 

Yang shrugs, leaning back against the edge of the bath. “It is where I'm from, and this is a lot of bath for just one person. I can leave if you're uncomfortable, though.”

She appears earnest in the offer, and Weiss shakes her head. “I will endure.”

Yang laughs, but it's soft and she shakes her head in a way that suggests it's not as Weiss’ expense

Weiss has sunken into a near-meditative state when Yang speaks again. 

“You're pretty good.” She's sprawled out, arms extended to either side and legs spread. Her fingertips are almost touching Weiss’s shoulder. Weiss hasn't decided if she should assert her space or ignore it. "That fight against the knight thing… I haven't seen anybody that good in a long time.” A flash of white teeth. "Other than me, of course.”

Weiss’ mood sours. “You think you could succeed where I did not?”

Yang shrugs again, grinning without opening her eyes. “I'd sure like to try.”

Weiss snorts, turning her head away deliberately.

“That's going to scar if you don't let someone look at it,” Yang gestures to Weiss’ eye. As if she didn't already know.

Her meditative calm cracks entirely, and Weiss feels the temperature of the bathwater plummet. She reestablishes control almost immediately, but the damage is done.

“Yes,” she grits out, not best pleased to be reminded of her failure. “I suspected as much, thank you.” She will _not_ challenge the Queen's sister to an honor duel.

“No harm meant,” Yang says mildly. She looks repentant, and Weiss sighs.

“My apologies. I will fetch warmer water.” She's just begun hauling herself out of the bath when she feels the temperature rise.

Yang grins lazily at her. “I got this.”

Weiss lowers herself back down, looking to Yang with a new respect. It takes fine control to heat water without evaporating it entirely. Weiss’ slip nearly froze it; extremes are far easier than gradations.

Without quite meaning to, Weiss finds herself taking the other woman's measure. She'd evaluated her at first glance when she met the Queen; noted the musculature, balanced stance, and obvious loyalty to her sister, and dismissed her as only a threat if the Queen were also an enemy, and not much of one besides. Upon second inspection, Weiss can see her deep, measured breaths, and feel the continued warmth without any sign of apparent strain. Weiss couldn't speak to power, but her control is evident.

Yang's grin turns sly, and Weiss looks away, realizing abruptly what it could be taken as. 

“It's alright, you can look,” Yang teases.

Weiss stubbornly keeps her eyes on the opposite side on the bath, on a particularly uninteresting piece of stonework. “I was not.”

Yang throws her head back, laughing. “You're shy! That's alright. Hey, look.” Yang pushes a gentle current of heated water her way, and Weiss dares to meet her eyes. “Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night.”

Weiss’ jaw goes slack.

“Tonight's gonna be a big formal dinner, blah blah blah so excited to have you with us,” Yang waves a hand dismissively. “But tomorrow you should totally go check out the city. And who would be a better guide than someone who just got to know the city and knows where all the good stuff is?” 

Weiss regains her composure, clearing her throat. “In my homeland, one person asking another to have a meal, specifically dinner, alone, is… considered romantic.”

“Is that what you want?” Yang's voice turns curious.

_“No.”_

She shrugs. “Then it won't be.” As if it is that easy.

Weiss takes a deep breath. “I will… consider it.”

Yang tips her a wink, and relaxes back against the stone. They spend the rest of the bath in companionable silence, and Weiss finds her condition upon exiting far preferable to how she entered. She reflects that perhaps Yang is not quite as uncouth as first impressions implied, and resolves to sleep on the invitation

She does, in fact, end up allowing Yang to take her to dinner.


End file.
